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THEPOLITICALARTIST

United States may be an older democracy than we are , but it is far from being a matured one. We Indians might have our political and ideological differences but it rarely spills out of the virtual space. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a highly divisive figure , his legitimacy to the post is never questioned like they do in America. Even the staunchest critics of the current regime accepts Mr Modi as our leader. The anti Trump propaganda on display at the 79th Emmys was appalling. It has again vindicated the Indian maxim that artists should stay far away from politics untill their career is done and over with.

Artists are in a unique position were they could bring people of various hues to togather like a glue. Just look at the Bahubali phenomenon were India as a whole came up to own a Telugu fantasy movie as their own. By endorsing a political narrative an artist of repute is alienating a huge chunk of his/her fan base .Take Katy Perry for instance , Her active endorsement of Hillary Clinton might have created media hype , but her conservative fans abandoned her. Her career is now on a downward spiral with the latest single swish-swish finding no takers. At the same time her rival and a shrewd business woman Taylor Swift was conspicuous by her absence during the political debates during the elections. Having a huge country music fandom she could never have taken a stance which could offend the Redneck Middle America. Her new single is ruling the charts right now and is being lapped up by the public even being a critical dud.

Award shows must limit themselves to their core business – that is to honour the best in show biz. I am indeed proud of the fact that we Indians never wash our dirty linen on such huge platforms . We showcase our diversity and unity at such occasions unlike the “civilised ” Americans who shows the world how deeply divided they are.